Honda City video review

If you subscribe to the theory that bigger is invariably better, then the updated Honda City is bound to strike a chord.

At almost 4.5 metres long, 1.7 metres wide and 1.5 metres high, the fourth-generation sedan typifies the car industry’s curious fascination with large dimensions. Remarkably, the "sub-compact" or "light' City is taller than the original VB Commodore from 1978, and just shy of the Holden’s length and width.

Inside, the carryover exterior dimensions deliver even more room than the City’s 2012 predecessor. A commodious 536-litre boot – bigger than the current VF Commodore – and enough rear seat space to humble cars in the next segment up are among the City’s modest attributes.

New Honda City

New Honda City VTi-L.

Starting at $15,990 plus on-road costs for the base manual VTi variant, the City is priced competitively enough, too; nestled at the favourable end of a segment including the Toyota Yaris sedan, Mazda2 sedan and Nissan Almera. The range-topping VTi-L creeps into Mazda3/Toyota Corolla territory, priced at $21,390 plus on-road costs.

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The City’s power comes courtesy of a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 88kW of power and 145Nm of torque. Mated to either a five-speed manual or an optional $2000 CVT automatic, fuel use is rated at 5.8L/100km in manual guise and 5.7L/100km in automatic.

During the City’s Australian launch at Canberra this week, the car proved to be surefooted and predictable in a range of scenarios. However, not surprisingly, the large dimension-small engine teaming became lethargic when the car’s boundaries were pushed.

Light steering and ease of manoeuvrability endowed the City with a pleasant driving nature through Canberra’s urban thoroughfares. The steering itself is a little slow to react but otherwise it is fairly predictable and accurate. Small bumps are mostly ironed out in both VTi and VTi-L variants, the latter riding on larger 16-inch alloy wheels. Larger obstacles presented more of a challenge, transferring imperfections into the cabin, while sharper corners induced noticeable body roll.

The brakes have a good amount of feel through the pedal, making use of a disc configuration on the front wheels and a drum brake setup on the rear wheels.

The 1.5-litre engine, too, is fuss-free in regular driving. Mated on test to a CVT transmission only (there were no manuals available), it produced decent enough power from down low in the rev range, steadily building pace to highway speed.

Peak power is reached at 6600rpm, while maximum torque is rated at 4600rpm. What does all of that mean on the road? The City can be slightly averse to headier applications of the right foot. On squeezing the accelerator for an overtaking manoeuvre, the drivetrain became thrashy and had to really work to move the City’s circa-1100 kilogram heft with any great urgency.

Steer clear of enthusiastic stuff, however, and you should have little trouble getting close to the City’s claimed fuel consumption figures; we saw under 6.5L/100km during our 120km stint.

Road noise is well insulated inside the cabin, however, the engine can become rather intrusive at higher revs.

One of Honda’s strong suits is interior ergonomics and in that regard, the City impresses with its general vision, build quality and storage. One gripe is sharp downward angle of the bonnet; it feels as though you’re driving blind from the bottom of the windscreen onwards because you cannot see the front of the car.

Inside, there are less than 10 physical switches or dials on the updated centre fascia, streamlined through the use of a new 7-inch colour touch screen. The dashboard itself is fairly smart, too, with splashes of piano black finish and silver plastic highlights housing sleek air vents.

The instrument cluster is contemporary and easy to read, with blue rings illuminating the speedometer, tachometer and digital information display gauges.

Storage is ample throughout the cabin, with deep door pockets in the front and rear, and small cubby holes available to most pews. A fold down centre arm rest with cup holders ensures rear seat passengers are adequately catered for.

The City comes standard with Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity and a satellite-navigation system which connects through your phone (using its data) and costs $50 for every three years to operate.

There are also software apps available using your phone’s data. While the system is simple to operate, users need a compatible iPhone 4S or newer to (Android devices won’t work) and the phone has to be connected through an HDMI cable.

Take closer look at the City’s interior and you’ll notice some telltale cost-cutting signs; there are no lights for the vanity mirrors, no air vents for rear seat occupants, the roof-lining comprises an egg carton-like carpet, and hard plastic adorns much of the dashboard and door trims. A white carpeted parcel shelf probably takes the cake as the biggest oddity here, though, standing out against the predominantly black interior.

The resounding wow-factor with this interior is not its features, but its sheer size. The rear seat offering is similar to that of a mid-size sedan. The commodious proportions are accentuated by split-fold seating which opens up the 536-litre boot to the cabin. The boot aperture is large but there is no external button on the VTi base model (you have to use the key fob or pull a release button next to the driver’s seat). A space saver spare resides under the boot floor in both variants.

The City gets a basic suite of standard safety features including a reverse camera (rear parking sensors are a $450 option fitted), front, side and full-length curtain airbags, stability and traction control functions, ABS, electronic brake force distribution and emergency brake assist.

Ultimately, the City could become of victim of its large orientations. Honda admits that prospective buyers might ultimately shop this car against the slightly bigger small car segment. Even so, the City is a functional and solid package in its own right.

29 comments so far

It's impressive that a $15,990 car is able to have a reversing camera as standard, whilst the $428,000 Lamborghini Huracan is unable to have it as standard, it's a $5,900 option.

Commenter

McF1

Location

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 3:01AM

McF1, not that amazing, Honda left out the Lamborghini engine to pay for it.

Commenter

Stevo the dilf

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 9:34AM

Stevo, that doesn't quite work. The profit margin on the Lambo is astronomical, whilst the profit margin on the Honda is minuscule. Lambo could easily throw in a reversing camera without compromising its commercial viability. For Honda, it would have been a real challenge.

This is why it doesn't make sense when people gush over the technological developments on a Mercedes S-Class – as if it is some kind of innovative marvel. But of course those cars come with gizmos and gadgets that other cars don't have – its pricing is completely divorced from the cost of the vehicles and the profit margins are galactic. They have no difficulty at all in throwing in expensive toys because they have so much room to play with.

The value equation of cars is not constant as you move through the segments. The higher you go, the less correlation exists between production cost and retail price.

Commenter

Montague H. Withnail

Location

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 10:49AM

No, McF1 - people marvel at new safety innovations on cars like the S-Class because some are genuinely new and valuable. It takes time and money to come up with this stuff, and that's partly why these cars cost more. Innovation is expensive - SURPRISE!!

Take the invention of the airbag whose first commercial application was in the S-Class. Are you saying it's not a genuinely innovation because it debued in an expensive car? How is this research supposed to be paid for??

Commenter

greenpea

Location

sydney

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 11:32AM

ChigEver thought there is a small lucrative market out there for people who want a quality sports car and are willing to pay for it.Besides, how do you know...Lambo might only sell five units per year?

Commenter

Glove Puppet

Location

Left Field

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 11:52AM

correction - i was responding to Montague H. Withnail's post

Commenter

greenpea

Location

sydney

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 11:56AM

Montage ...... It was a tung in cheek comment, nice come back but,

Commenter

Steno the dilf

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 12:11PM

No, I'm not saying the innovative quality of an invention is affected by the nature of its first commercial application at all.

The example of the air bag you highlighted is a great one – a truly fantastic invention. However, the involvement of the Mercedes S-Class in its proliferation was limited to the fact that this vehicle happened to be in a position to adopt it early on account of its vast profit margin. The innovation occurred regardless of the S-Class. It's proliferation across lower segments of motoring may have been slower if it hadn't been trialled in that car, but I would suggest it would eventually have happened without it.

Commenter

Montague H. Withnail

Location

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 12:46PM

@Montague H. Withnail - The profit margin on most supercars is anything but 'astronomical'. They cost so much to engineer that, in some cases, manufacturers almost make a loss on each vehicle sold.

Plus, I don't think people that are in the market for a $428,000 Lamborghini really give a damn about a petty reverse camera. They're more for the unskilled Corolla/Honda City/Nissan GT-R drivers, like yourselves.

Sorry mate, better luck next time.

Commenter

CMD

Location

Date and time

May 14, 2014, 2:22PM

Absolutely wrong, Montague H. Withnail

The airbag innovation happened precisely BECAUSE there is an S-Class (and similar cars). Who do you think would have funded its research, development and commercial application otherwise? Which consumers would have borne the cost? How much longer would it have taken, if at all?? The fact that this piece of junk from Honda dares to use drum brakes to meet a price point is all the evidence a thinking person should need.

Another innovation in the form of matrix LED lighting has just been released on the Audi A8. Without the class of car that includes the S-Class, A8, 7 Series, Lexus LS and the like, who exactly do you think would be pouring money into these things??

It's not even limited to the auto industry, Even fashion sees trends (which some might consider to be innovations) happen at the top, and then trickle down to lesser brands and diffusions. Features like the Gucci horsebit now appear on even the tackiest rubbish at your local Strandbags.

And by the way, just because a car is more expensive it doesn't make it more profitable. Just look at the Bugatti Veyron, VW Phaeton or Mercedes Maybach if you need a few recent examples.